Apparatus for adhesively bonding a metal plate to a refractory brick



y 3, 1969 c. c. SMITH ETAL APPARATUS FOR ADHESIVELY BONDING A METAL PLAT TO A REFRACTORY BRICK Filed April 25. 1965 INVENTOR CHARLES C. SMITH EVERETT E. ELY

May 13, 1969 c. c. SMITH ETAL 3,444,027

APPARATUS FOR ADHESIVELY BONDING A METAL PLATE TO A REFRACTORY BRICK Filed April 25, 1965 Sheet 3 of 4 29 I3 x I4 "-7- I 38 2's\ l 2'0 I9 54 23 I NVENTOR.

CHARLES C. SMITH EVERETT E. ELY

May 13, 1969 3,444,027

APPARATUS FOR ADHESIVELY BONDING A METAL PLATE C. C. SMITH ETAL TO A REFRACTORY BRICK Sheet Filed April 23. 1965 M a. N WI INVENTOR CHARLES c. SMITH E. ELY

EVERETT BY r;-

May 13, 1969 APPARATUS FOR A'DR Filed April 25, 1965 C C. SMITH ETAL TO A REFRACTORY BRICK ESIVELY BONDING A METAL PLATE Sheet 4 INVENTOR. CHARLES C. SMITH EVERETT E. ELY

3 444,027 APPARATUS FOR ADHESIVELY BONDING A METAL PLATE TO A REFRACTORY BRICK Charles C. Smith, Mexico, Mo., and Everett E. Ely,

Salinas, Calif., assignors to Kaiser Aluminum &

Chemical Corporation, Oakland, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 450,456 Int. Cl. Bc 5/02; B32b 15/04 US. Cl. 156-357 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for applying a metal plate, especially an L-plate, to a refractory brick or block, in a continuous mode whereby an adhesive is applied to the surface thereof, the brick then draws an L-plate onto its adhesive-bearing surface in its forward motion from a supply or magazine of such plates, and thereafter pressure means maintain the plate against the brick until the adhesive is set.

This invention relates to an apparatus for applying metal plating to a refractory shaped product or block.

Shaped refractory products, such as bricks or blocks in various shapes and sizes, are employed in lining furnaces or kilns and it is frequently desirable that metal plating be aflixed to one or more surfaces of such articles prior to installation in a kiln or furnace, to facihtate bonding together under heat of the plated refractory shape to form a monolithic lining and for other purposes. In particular, wedge-shaped blocks such as those known to the art as arches, wedges or kiln blocks, have been useful in lining rotary kilns and have been provided with adhesively afiixed L-shaped plates, but this has been a laborious and time-consuming hand operation. One source of trouble has been the occasional failure to apply adhesive or suflicient adhesive to the surface of the brick or block before placing the metal plate thereon, with subsequent separation of block and plate prior to placement in a kiln or furnace.

According to the present invention there is provided a system for mechanically applying adhesive and metal plating to a refractory shape which can be either a chemically or cold-bonded shape or a fired shape. The adhestve is first applied, according to this invention to a surface of the refractory shape. Thereafter, if desired, a perforated sheet of paper or cardboard is laid over the adhesive. After the adhesive has been applied but before it has set or hardened, an L-shaped metal plate is placed over the adhesive-coated surface of the block or shape such that the long flange of the L is disposed above the adhesive and the short flange is disposed over an adjacent surface of the shape. Pressure is then applied to the plated article at the flange above the adhesive for predetermined period of time. This time is determined by the period in which the adhesive sets sufliciently that the flange does not readily slide or move about relative to the block surface.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate some embodiments of this invention:

FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of the system showing the successive stations;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an adhesive-applying station;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of line 33 of FIGURE 2 showing the interior of an adhesive-applying means;

FIGURE 4 is like FIGURE 3 but shows the positions of the various elements at a different point of travel of a refractory kiln block;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a plate-applying station and means;

Patented May 13, 1969 FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the plate-applying means of FIGURE 5, taken on line 66;

FIGURE 7 shows one means for ejecting the bent plate from the die at the plate-applying station.

In operation of the device of the present invention a refractory brick 10 is conveyed by a conveyor means, suitably a conveyor belt 11, to an adhesive-applying station 12. As illustrated in the sketches in the present case, 10 is a kiln liner or a wedge-shaped brick Other types of brick are useful in the present invention. The adhesiveapplying station comprises a source (not shown) of liquid adhesive under pressure which enters a valve 13 by way of conduit 14 attached thereto in any suitable manner and in open communication with the conduit 15 within the valve itself. Conduit 15 in turn debouches into a transfer conduit 16, conduit 15 being vertical in the present embodiment, the embodiment shown in FIGURE 3 and conduit 16 being horizontal. One end of conduit 16 is sealed off by a bolt 17 which is threadedly inserted in valve block 18. Disposed at the base of bolt 17 is a spring 19 and disposed at the end of spring 19 is ball 20 which is freely movable within conduit 16 except insofar as restrained by spring 19 and by shoulder 21 partially closing off conduit 16. Conduit 16 extends with lesser diameter at 22 farther into the valve block 18 and in open connection therewith is vertical outlet conduit 23- which is in open communication with one side wall of conduit 22. A still smaller extended conduit 24 which is in open communication with 22 and is suitably of smaller diameter than 22, is disposed axially of conduits 16 and 22; and disposed in 24 is rod or pusher element 25 which is suitably sealed by a sealing ring, e.g. 26, to prevent leakage of adhesive exteriorly through conduit 24. Likewise the sealing ring 27 is disposed on shoulders 21, against which ball 20 seats in closed position to prevent egress of adhesive contained within conduit 16 when the valve is not in operation. Pusher element 25 suitably has an enlarged head as at 28 which is of larger diameter than the diameter of conduit 24 and seats itself against sealing means 26 in order to be retained within valve block 18. Disposed ahead or upstream of valve block 18, with respect to the direction of travel of a brick, and suitably supported, is actuating element 29 to effect operation of valve 13. The supporting means for 29 and valve 13 are conventional and are not shown herein. Actuating element 29 is pivotally movable on horizontal rod 54 and includes an arm 30 supporting at its end, in freely rotatable relationship, wheels 31. As shown, arm 30 suitably is composed of horizontal arm 32 and a downwardly extending portion thereof at 33, disposed at any suitable angle to the horizontal. Fixedly connected, e.g. by a cross-arm 34, to arm 30 is an upepr arm 35 likewise comprised of a horizontal portion 36 parallel to 32 and a downwardly extending portion 37. Disposed at the end of downwardly inclined portion 37 is flange 38 which is vertically dis posed and depends from the lower extremity of inclined arm 37.

As brick 10 is moved forwardly on conveyor belt 11,, the forward face 39 engages wheel 31 and the latter is raised and runs over upper face 40 of block 10. As the vertical displacement of wheel 31 is increased with respect to belt 11, by passage upwardly over inclined face 40, actuating element 29 and arms 32 and 35, including downwardly inclined portion 37 are likewise vertically displaced upwardly and pusher element 25, which normally is forced along on 37 toward 'flange 38 and eventually is resting in contact with the outer surface of flange 38, being thus forced inwardly through conduit 22 and into contact with ball 20, displacing ball 20 toward and into contact with spring 19 and compressing spring 19, opening aperture 41 which is the connection between conduit 22 and conduit 16 and permitting an adhesive to flow through '14, 15, '16, 22, 23 and downwardly onto surface 40 of brick as indicated more clearly in FIGURE 4. A brick 10 passes onwardly on conveyor belt 11, wheel 31 drops off the rear face of 42 of brick 10 thereby releasing pusher rod 25 and permitting ball 20 to be forced by spring 19 back against the ceiling ring at 21, closing off flow of adhesive.

Brick 10 with adhesive disposed on face 40 now passes forwardly on conveyor 11, tripping switch 56 which actuates solenoid valve 57. Solenoid valve 57 actuates hydraulically operated press die 55, which will be later described. Brick 10 is now conveyed to plate-applying station 43 where it passes under hopper 44, the forward face 39 of brick 10 coming into contact with downwardly depending flange 45 of an L-shaped metal plate 46, removing it from the hopper 44 and carrying it along with it as it proceeds forwardly on belt 11. The longer arm 47 of plate '46, which is adapted to rest on the side face 40 of block 10, falls from hopper 44 and comes into contact with the adhesive which has previously been applied at gluing station 13. Attached to the outlet face 48 of hopper 44 in any desired manner is a flexible wiping pad 49 which can be, for example, of heavy rubber sheeting. This is adapted to come into frictional contact with arm 47 and assist in pressing it firmly against face 40 of block 10 to insure good contact and secure setting of the adhesive disposed therebetween.

In a convenient operation of the invention, in combination with plating station 43 is an inclined chute 50 into which are fed numerous blank metal plates 46 in stacked arrangement. As needed, each blank is suitably pushed by a hydraulic ram indicated schematically at '52 into a brake press where a blank 46 will rest horizontally on a die 53, and is bent and a flange 45 is bent downwardly by downwardly moving upper die 55 which is forced downwardly, suitably by conventional hydraulic pressure means (not shown) actuated by solenoid 57, past and spaced from the forward face of die 53 to form flange 45 on blank 46, thus forming a bent plate. When this brake operation is completed the downward force is released and upper die 55 is returned to its top position by the reversal action of solenoid '57 on the hydraulic means. This release is effected in a manner whereby die 55 as it proceeds downwardly trips time delay switch 58, which is preset for a predetermined dwell time for die 55. At the end of the die dwell time period, time switch 58 reverses solenoid valve 57 opening the die. As the die rises it closes switch 59 activating solenoid valve 60 which actuates hydraulic ram 52 and moves another plate 46 into the die zone. Springs and plate '51 hold plate 46 firmly in position during the operation. As shown in FIGURE 7, hydraulic-ally operated pusher or ejector 68 can be actuated by solenoid valve 67 to eject bent plate 46 into hopper 44; or it can be manually ejected.

Brick 10 leaves plating station 43 and is conveyed forwardly to a press station 61 where a hydraulic ram '62 is actuated by time delay switch 63 and solenoid valve 64, switch 63 being tripped by brick 10 in its forward movement. Brick 10 is held by any suitable means, not shown, on support plate 65. Ram 62 is controlled by a time delay switch 66 for a preset dwell time, under pressure against plate 46, and is then retracted suitably by solenoid valve 64. Ram 62 presses plate 46 against upper face 40 of brick 10 and the adhesive thereon, to effect secure afiixation of plate to brick, the brick being suitably supported.

The above specific description has been given for purposes of illustration only and it will be understood that variations and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. For instance, if desired, a perforated paper plate permitting contact between the metal plate 46 and the adhesive can be laid on the brick face prior to application of the plate.

Having now described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for affixing a metal plate to a brick the combination which comprises:

(a) a conveyor belt to support and convey a wedgeshaped brick having an upper plane surface in a horizontal path,

(b) a dispensing means for liquid adhesive disposed along said path and above said brick on said belt,

(c) said dispensing means comprising a supply conduit for liquid adhesive having an exit aperture,

(d) a dispensing valve disposed at said aperture in sea-led arrangement therewith, and having a forward end and a rearward end and including an internal passageway and a first outlet in open connection with said passageway and a second conduit disposed at one end and axially of said passageway,

(e) a helical spring disposed in said passageway,

(f) a ball in said passageway at the end of said spring, and normally disposed over said open end of said outlet conduit,

(g) a rod movably disposed within said second conduit, being in sealed arrangement therewith at said end of said passageway and extending from Within said passageway exteriorly of said dispensing valve, said rod being adapted to force said ball away from said open mouth,

(h) affixed to said dispensing valve and spaced therefrom at its rearward end a downwardly extending first arm and a rotatable wheel disposed at the lowermost end of said arm, and a second downwardly extending arm disposed above said first arm and having a vertical flange extending downwardly at its lowermost end,

(i) said flange engaging the exterior end of said rod in slidable relationship,

(j) said wheel being adapted to be engaged by and to roll on the upper surface of said brick as it is conveyed, to bring said vertical fiange into engagement with said rod,

(k) means for placing an L-shaped metal plate on said upper surface of said brick, and

(1) means for pressing said plate on said brick at a pressing station.

2. In an apparatus as in claim 1, the combination wherein the end of said rod within said passageway is of greater diameter than the diameter of said second outlet conduit.

3. In an apparatus for afiixing a metal plate to a brick the combination which comprises:

(a) a conveyor belt for conveying in a horizontal path a wedge-shaped brick having a forward face and an upper plane face,

(b) dispensing means for liquid adhesive disposed above said brick on said belt and adapted to deposit adhesive on said upper face,

(0) means for placing an L-shaped metal plate on said brick on said belt comprising a receptacle for an IL-shaped :metal plate, said receptacle having 4 sides and a bottom, said bottom having an aperture at the forward end thereof adapted to permit the downwardly extending flange of an L-plate to drop through, whereby said flange is engaged by said forward face of said brick in its forward travel to draw out said plate onto said brick into contact with said deposited adhesive, and

(d) a pressing station to press said plate onto said upper surface of said brick.

4. In an apparatus for afiixin-g an L-plate to a brick, the combination comprising:

(a) a conveyor belt for conveying in a horizontal path a wedge-shaped brick having a forward face and an upper plane face,

(b) a dispensing means for liquid adhesive disposed along said path and above said brick on said belt,

(c) said dispensing means comprising a supply conduit for liquid adhesive having an exit aperture,

(d) a dispensing valve disposed at said aperture in sealed arrangement therewith, and having a forward end and a rearward end and including an internal (i) said flange engaging the exterior end of said rod in slidable relationship,

(j) means for placing an L-shaped metal plate on said brick on said belt comprising a receptacle for an L-shaped metal plate, said receptacle having 4 sides '(g) a rod movably disposed within said second conpassageway and a first outlet in open connection 5 and a bottom, said bottom having an aperture at with said passageway and a second conduit disposed the forward end thereof adapted to permit the downat one end and axially of said passageway, wardly extending flange of an L-plate to drop (e) a helical spring disposed in said passageway, through, whereby said flange is engaged by said for- (f) a 'ball in said passageway at the end of said spring, 10 ward face .of said brick in its forward travel to draw and normally disposed over said open end of said out said plate onto said brick, and outlet conduit,

(k) a pressing station to press said plate onto said upper surface of said brick.

dui-t, being in sealed arrangement therewith at said end of said passageway and extending from within said passageway exteriorly of said dispensing valve,

said rod being adapted to force said 'ball away from References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS (h zi ffigieil t g z tiig dis ensin valve and s aced there- Egg-lit: P g P 3,334,460 8/1967 "McShane 156-89 XR from at its rearward end a downwardly extending first arm and a rotatable wheel disposed at the lowermost end of said arm, and a second downwardly extending arm disposed above said first arm and having a vertical flange extending downwardly at its lowermost end,

EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

G. W. MOXON 11, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 156-556; 29-211 

